A Vision for a More Spiritual Psychotherapy
A graduate course I once took on the nature of human consciousness left me with a sense of humility and a powerful vision for the future of therapy. It was a nine-week deep dive that completely changed my perspective, reminding me just how mysterious our inner worlds are. A quote from Ken Wilber that I studied then has stayed with me ever since:
"And our innermost consciousness, as knower and investigator of the external world, ultimately escapes its own grasp and remains as the unknown... much as your hand can grasp numerous objects but never itself, or your eye can see the world but not itself... so just as a knife cannot cut itself, the universe cannot totally see itself as an object without totally mutilating itself." (Wilber, 1993)
That course showed me how little I truly know about consciousness, and perhaps how little I'll ever be able to know in a purely intellectual way. The most important lessons were not just read, but experienced.
A Vision for the Future of Therapeutic Practice
That journey solidified a vision for the future of psychotherapy—one that moves beyond simple symptom management and embraces a more spiritual and holistic approach to healing. I hope to see a future where:
Meditation is used for exploration, not just relaxation. Therapists can assist clients in using meditation for its original purpose: to reach alternate states of consciousness and explore the deeper realms of their own psyche.
Therapist-assisted psychedelic journeys are destigmatized. I would like to see therapists able to assist clients in using hallucinogens for the purpose of reaching alternate states of consciousness, without being shunned or stigmatized for using these powerful healing tools.
"Psychotic" symptoms are utilized for growth. Instead of only trying to repress the symptoms of disorders like schizophrenia with medication, I'd like to see more therapists supporting clients in learning how to utilize their new symptoms and experiences for greater well-being and integration.
The Final Frontier
As Wilber suggests, we can utilize the knowledge of consciousness to better humanity. We explore every corner of the external world in-depth, but we often fail to apply that same rigorous curiosity to ourselves. If we discourage research and exploration in this area, we might be missing out on some of the most powerful tools for healing and happiness that exist. The final frontier is not outer space, but inner space.
References
Wilber, K. (1993). The spectrum of consciousness. Theosophical Publishing House.
